# Bob Clark
**Bob Clark** (Benjamin Robert Clark, 1939 or 1941 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer whose career ran from low-budget horror to two of the most commercially influential comedies of the early 1980s, *Porky's* and *A Christmas Story*. He worked largely in Canada during the 1970s, where *Black Christmas* (1974) became an early prototype of the slasher film, and he returned to Hollywood hits with *Porky's* (1981) and the holiday classic *A Christmas Story* (1983).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Robert Clark; birth name recorded as Benjamin Clark[3](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Category%3ABob_Clark) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) |
| Born | New Orleans, Louisiana; sources give August 5, 1939 (IMDb, Fandango, Grindhouse Database) or 1941 (Canadian Film Encyclopedia, The Guardian)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) |
| Died | April 4, 2007, Pacific Palisades, California, in a head-on car crash that also killed his 22-year-old son, Ariel[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) |
| Signature films | *Black Christmas* (1974), *Porky's* (1981), *A Christmas Story* (1983)[4](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/bob-clark-1578/biography/) • [5](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark) |
| Awards | Genie Award for Best Direction for *Murder by Decree* (1979); Best Direction and Best Screenplay Genies for *A Christmas Story* (1984)[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/clark-bob-1941) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) |
| Box office | *Porky's* earned $109.5 million domestically on a $13.0 million combined tracked budget basis, the biggest hit of his career[5](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark) |
| Honors | *A Christmas Story* was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) |
## Early life and start in filmmaking
Clark was born in New Orleans and raised in [Fort Lauderdale, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/fort-lauderdale-florida). After turning down offers to play professional football, he completed a drama major at the [University of Miami](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-miami) and began his career as an actor.[2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) The Grindhouse Cinema Database adds that he came from a poor family, that his father died when he was a child, that his mother worked as a barmaid, and that he studied philosophy and held a football scholarship before turning to theater.[3](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Category%3ABob_Clark)
His first credits were small and strange. He directed the short *The Emperor's New Clothes* (1966), starring [John Carradine](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carradine), and his first feature, *She-Man* (1967), about a man blackmailed into living as a female impersonator.[4](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/bob-clark-1578/biography/) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) With Alan Ormsby, a university acquaintance, he wrote and directed the low-budget horror comedy *Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things* (1972), a minor cult hit, and followed it with *Deathdream* (also released as *Dead of Night*, 1974), about a [Vietnam veteran](https://www.edgepedia.org/vietnam-veteran) who returns home changed.[2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) • [4](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/bob-clark-1578/biography/)
## The Canadian decade
*Black Christmas* (1974), filmed in Toronto with [Margot Kidder](https://www.edgepedia.org/margot-kidder), Keir Dullea, and [Olivia Hussey](https://www.edgepedia.org/olivia-hussey), brought Clark to Canada and began what the Canadian Film Encyclopedia calls his decade-long presence in Canadian commercial filmmaking, aided by the country's tax-shelter policies.[4](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/bob-clark-1578/biography/) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) The film, released under alternate titles including *Silent Night, Evil Night* and *Stranger in the House*, follows a killer stalking sorority sisters over obscene phone calls; retrospective criticism identifies it as a proto-slasher made years before *Halloween* popularized the form.[7](https://wiki.chadnet.org/files/soiled-sinema.pdf)
His Canadian run also included *Murder by Decree* (1979), in which [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.edgepedia.org/sherlock-holmes) investigates [Jack the Ripper](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-the-ripper), and *Tribute* (1980). Clark won the Genie Award for Best Direction for *Murder by Decree* in 1980 and earned a Genie directing nomination and a Golden Berlin Bear nomination at the [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival) for *Tribute* the following year.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/clark-bob-1941)
## Hollywood success: *Porky's* and *A Christmas Story*
*Porky's* (1981; the AFI Catalog dates it 1982) was a teen sex comedy set in 1954 that became the highest-grossing film of Clark's career, taking in $109.5 million domestically against the box office tracking site's $13.0 million aggregate production figure for his four tracked films.[5](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/22501-Bob-Clark) • [2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) The Canadian Film Encyclopedia notes Clark's habit of period settings, and he followed *Porky's* with its sequel *Porky's II: The Next Day* (1983), both of which he also wrote and produced.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/22501-Bob-Clark)
__[A Christmas Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-christmas-story)__ (1983), which Clark co-wrote with [Jean Shepherd](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-shepherd) and Leigh Brown and co-produced, drew on 1940s childhood material in the same warm-but-sharp mode. The film earned $20.8 million domestically on initial release but grew into a television perennial; Fandango's retrospective account of Clark's style pairs the film's holiday sentiment with *Porky's* ribald edge as the two poles of his sensibility.[5](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark) • [9](https://www.fandango.com/people/bob-clark-975345) The film was nominated for nine [Genie Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/genie-awards), and Clark won for Best Direction and Best Screenplay, with an additional Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay; it later entered the Library of Congress National Film Registry.[2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio)
The pairing of his best-loved and least-respected work produced an unusual critical record. IMDb trivia lists Clark as one of only two directors, alongside [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner), to have a film on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list (*A Christmas Story*) and another on his "Most Hated" list (*Baby Geniuses*, 1999).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) Critics' scores trace the same spread: *A Christmas Story* stands at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes as tracked by Box Office Watch, *Black Christmas* at 73%, *Porky's* at 34%, and *Baby Geniuses* at 2%.[5](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark)
## Later career
Clark returned to the United States in 1984. His subsequent features included the [Dolly Parton](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolly-parton) and [Sylvester Stallone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvester-stallone) musical comedy *Rhinestone* (1984), for which he also wrote lyrics, *Turk 182!* (1985), *From the Hip* (1987), and *Loose Cannons* (1990), along with family films such as *Baby Geniuses* (1999) and its sequel *SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2* (2004).[2](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark) • [8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/22501-Bob-Clark) A full AFI filmography across directing, writing, producing, and other crew credits lists 30 titles.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/22501-Bob-Clark)
## Death
On April 4, 2007, Clark and his 22-year-old son Ariel were killed when a drunk driver steered into their lane in a head-on crash in Pacific Palisades, California. The other driver was later charged with driving without a license and while intoxicated.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio) The Guardian's obituary confirmed the death at age 67, consistent with the 1941 birth year its own dating used.[10](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/apr/12/guardianobituaries.obituaries)
## References
1. [Bob Clark – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0163706/bio)
2. [Bob Clark, Canadian Film Encyclopedia (TIFF)](https://cfe.tiff.net/canadianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/bob-clark)
3. [Bob Clark, The Grindhouse Cinema Database](https://grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Category%3ABob_Clark)
4. [Bob Clark Biography, Showtimes](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/bob-clark-1578/biography/)
5. [Bob Clark Box Office: Every Movie Ranked, Box Office Watch](https://boxofficewatch.com/people/bob-clark)
6. [Clark, Bob 1941–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/clark-bob-1941)
7. [Black Christmas essay, Soiled Sinema PDF](https://wiki.chadnet.org/files/soiled-sinema.pdf)
8. [Bob Clark, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/22501-Bob-Clark)
9. [Bob Clark Overview, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/bob-clark-975345)
10. [Bob Clark obituary, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/apr/12/guardianobituaries.obituaries)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › New Hollywood era directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license